Typically, mobile stations (e.g., cellular telephones) have a maximum number of transmit timeslots and a maximum transmit power level. In Time Division Duplex (TDD) communication systems, for example, the maximum uplink data rate of a mobile station is based on the number of timeslots. That is, the mobile station may transmit data at a faster rate when more timeslots are available for the mobile station to use. In many situations, however, mobile stations cannot provide the maximum data rate at the maximum power level because of overheating of the transmitter circuitry. In a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network or an Enhanced Data rate for Global Evolution (EDGE) network, for example, a mobile station may limit the output power to a maximum power level based on a power class designation (i.e., a power class mark). The mobile station may provide the power class designation to the network, which in turn, adjusts the power level of the mobile station to regulate the signal level arriving at a base station controlled by the network. In some circumstances, the mobile station may need to operate at a higher power and a slower data rate for better quality of service or vice versa. For example, when the mobile station is farther away from the base station, higher output power from the mobile station may be necessary to communicate with the base station. In contrast, the mobile station may operate at a faster data rate (i.e., more timeslots) when the mobile station is closer to the base station.
One aspect of designing a wireless communication system is to optimize resources available to mobile stations. That is, different environments and applications may require the mobile station to use different resources. In a data application such as a web-browsing, for example, the mobile station may need to operate at a lower power level so that a faster data rate (i.e., more timeslots) may be available to transmit data to the communication network. Otherwise, as noted above, the transmitter circuitry within the mobile station may overheat by operating at a maximum power level and a maximum data rate. Therefore, a need exists to optimize communication via a radio link by trading off between power level and data rate of the mobile station.